Behaviourism and Cognitivism in Mathematics Teaching Approaches; - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

3rd International Conference on Education 2017

Behaviourism and Cognitivism in Mathematics Teaching Approaches; Case Study in Malaysian Secondary Schools

By: Abdolreza Lessani Aida Suraya Md. Yunus Kamariah Bt Abu Bakar Sedigheh Shakib Kotamjani

Faculty of Educational Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia Institute for Mathematical Research, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

20-22 April 2017

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Outline

 Introduction  Literature review  Problem Statement  Aim of study  Methods of Research  Findings  Discussion  Conclusion

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Introduction

Theory is essential to any meaningful development effort. Different societies have different theories to the teaching and learning of mathematics as illustrated in their curriculum.

Teaching methods involve the use of learning theories and each

theory has different outcomes in mathematics education. The role of teachers is to facilitate students’ thinking and learning, therefore, teacher should attempt to motivate students to learn.

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Literature Review

 This section discusses the two major learning theories including

behaviorism and cognitivism.

Behaviorism theory: The two main creators of behaviorist

approaches to learning were Skinner (1972) and Watson (1996).

Skinner remarked that habits that every of us develop stems from

• ur distinctive operant learning experiences.

Watson stated that human behaviour is a resulted of particular

stimuli that extracted from particular responses. This theory is a teacher-centered and giving lecture is the dominant method.

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 Cognitivist theory: Piaget (1936) was the first

psychologist to make a systematic study of cognitive development.

 Cognitive development was a progressive reorganization

• f mental processes as a result of environmental

experience.

 The main application of this theory in teaching of

mathematics can be seen in the skill of problem solving (teacher and student center).

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Steps of problem Solving

 1. Understand the problem

 2. Decide on a plan

 3. Carry out the plan  4. Check the answer  As students go through this skill of problem solving in

Mathematics, they get use to apply this method in solving their life challenges.

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 In Malaysian at secondary school’s books, in every

chapter, there are some examples under the title of

 Living with Mathematics (Form 2 page 58)

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Cont’d

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Cont’d

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Problem Statement

 Students experience mathematics anxiety which is a

feeling of tension and fear that interferes with mathematics learning.

 Students are not able to think critically to solve

mathematics problems.

 Students do not have enough confidence to discover their

mathematics problems.

 Which teaching method should be adapted to reduce

students’ mathematics anxiety and to increase their interest to mathematics?

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3rd International Conference on Education 2017

Aim of the Study

The aim of this study is to compare two learning theories

in mathematics teaching, and study their influence on mathematics learning.

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Methods of Research

 The qualitative case study method was considered more

feasible and appropriate to meet aim of this study.

 Data were collected using:

 Observation and  Semi-structured interviews with teachers  Participants are teachers from two secondary schools at

different states of Malaysia.

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Cont’d

 Two teachers were selected for the purpose of this study.  Teacher A and B tend to apply theories of behaviorism and

cognitivism in teaching method, respectively.

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Findings

Teacher A

 Observation:

 The class was teacher-centered. The teacher tended to solve

mathematics problems by herself with minimal students involvement.

 She used blackboard and extra mathematics books in the

class.

 Sometimes, she encouraged students to have in-class

discussions.

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 The example of linear equation was to find the value of x

given the volume of the cuboid is 88cm3.

 Teacher A posed a mixed problem with two aims: geometry

and algebra and found x with volume 88 cm3 to show how to solve a linear equation: 𝑤 = 88𝑑𝑛3 2𝑦 + 1 × 2 × 4 = 88 → 2𝑦 + 1 × 8 = 88 → 2𝑦 + 1 = 11 → 2𝑦 = 10 → 𝑦 = 5

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Cont’d

 Interview (teacher A)

 “Firstly I give examples and I solve them on board, then I

give some other questions to my students and ask them to solve them.”

 “While they are solving the examples, I go around the class,

and I can see whether they understood the topic.”

 “Sometimes I just ask a student who is in middle level to

answer the question. If he/she answers my questions, I know the other students understood it as well.”

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Teacher B

 Observation:

 In her class, students were working together.  She helped them while they were solving the problems.  She also collected students’ notebooks which they used

for doing their homework.

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Cont’d

 In another session she was teaching liner equation

and used skill of problem solving , she gave students three exercises.

 All of students took part in the class to solved them

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Cont’d

 Interview (teacher B)  “I give them homework to do at home and hand it in

the next session; I also give them some exercises in the class to check whether they understand the topic.”

 “We should know our students by name and respect

them in the class.”

 “We need to give them questions based on their

comprehension level. We should give easier questions to weak students.”

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Discussion

 Teacher A tended to apply traditional teaching method.

However, whenever possible she tried to encourage in-class activities and discussion.

Teacher B tended to use problem solving method  Moreover, some teachers were familiar with problem solving

and tended to apply this skill, but, whenever it was suited to the class, based on time of the class and population of students

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 Based on observation of classes that teachers used

traditional method students have difficulties to understand subjects of mathematics and they have anxiety when it comes to exams, class activities and discussions.

 In the classes that teacher uses problem solving

method, students are involved in class activities, group discussion with each other and with teachers, and they have less or no anxiety to take exams.

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 Among several methods of teaching Mathematics such

as discovery learning, mastery learning, group working, and so on, problem solving is perceived as the most

applicable teaching method in mathematics classes due to:



limited teaching time (about 60 minutes per session)



Large number of students in some of classes (about 38 pupils ).

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Conclusion

 In classes using problem solving method student have less

anxiety for exams.

 Students who learn mathematics by problem solving method

are more active in comparison with students under traditional method.

 Problem solving skill not only contribute to better mathematics

learning but also enhance students’ creativity to cope with life challenges.

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Thank you for your attention.

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